Thefts Force Library To Stop Lending Movies

July 23, 1986|By Terry Osinski of The Sentinel Staff

CASSELBERRY — The theft of more than a dozen video cassette movies from the main branch of the Seminole County Library has prompted a temporary halt on circulation of the movies until a new checkout system can be implemented.

The library's 640 cassettes were taken off the shelves last week after employees discovered 14 empty plastic movie cases hidden in the stacks. One or two were found each day for one week.

''It really horrified us,'' said Sandra Gallagher, libraries branch coordinator. ''We decided to take them off the shelf before our whole collection disappeared.''

Checkouts have been halted so library staff can inventory the collection and get an exact count of the number of movies missing and their titles. The movies are estimated to be worth between $600 and $700, considering processing costs, Gallagher said.

Casselberry police are investigating the theft but have no suspects in the case, Detective Lt. Durbin Gatch said Tuesday.

The movies were on a bookshelf in the middle of the library and people were allowed to check out as many as two per household for three days. The missing movies were not checked out because they would have been recorded in the library's system, Gallagher said.

To eliminate the problem, Gallagher said she plans to place the shelf closer to the circulation desk near the front door where a guard can watch them. Also, people will not be allowed to wander through the library with a movie. She said she hopes to have the inventory completed and movies back in circulation by next week.

Since the movies were introduced to the county system a year and a half ago, they have been one of the library's most popular items. The entire collection turns over every 3 1/2 days and the average monthly circulation is 4,745 movies, Gallagher said. They are only available at the county's main branch in Casselberry or shipped upon request to the Sanford branch library.